Palliative care, double effect and the law in Australia

Care and decision-making at the end of life that promotes comfort and dignity is widely endorsed by public policy and the law. In ethical analysis of palliative care interventions that are argued potentially to hasten death, these may be deemed to be ethically permissible by the application of the doctrine of double effect, if the doctor’s intention is to relieve pain and not cause death. In part because of the significance of ethics in the development of law in the medical sphere, this doctrine is also likely to be recognized as part of Australia’s common law, although hitherto there have been no cases concerning palliative care brought before a court in Australia to test this. Three Australian States have, nonetheless, created legislative defences that are different from the common law with the intent of clarifying the law, promoting palliative care, and distinguishing it from euthanasia. However, these defences have the potential to provide less protection for doctors administering palliative care. In addition to requiring a doctor to have an appropriate intent, the defences insist on adherence to particular medical practice standards and perhaps require patient consent. Doctors providing end-of-life care in these States need to be aware of these legislative changes. Acting in accordance with the common law doctrine of double effect may not provide legal protection. Similar changes are likely to occur in other States and Territories as there is a trend towards enacting legislative defences that deal with the provision of palliative care.

From critique to cultural recovery: critical futures studies and casual layered analysis

Critical futures studies is not about the careers of a few scholars, rather it is about projects that transcend the narrow boundaries of the self. This biographical monograph examines the life and work of Richard Slaughter and Sohail Inayatullah.

Double diffusive magneto-convection fluid flow in a strong cross magnetic field with uniform surface heat and mass flux

In this study, magnetohydrodynamic natural convection boundary layer flow of an electrically conducting and viscous incompressible fluid along a heated vertical flat plate with uniform heat and mass flux in the presence of strong cross magnetic field has been investigated. For smooth integrations the boundary layer equations are transformed in to a convenient dimensionless form by using stream function formulation as well as the free variable formulation. The nonsimilar parabolic partial differential equations are integrated numerically for Pr ≪1 that is appropriate for liquid metals against the local Hartmann parameter ξ . Further, asymptotic solutions are obtained near the leading edge using regular perturbation method for smaller values of ξ . Solutions for values of ξ ≫ 1 are also obtained by employing the matched asymptotic technique. The results obtained for small, large and all ξ regimes are examined in terms of shear stress, τw, rate of heat transfer, qw, and rate of mass transfer, mw, for important physical parameter. Attention has been given to the influence of Schmidt number, Sc, buoyancy ratio parameter, N and local Hartmann parameter, ξ on velocity, temperature and concentration distributions and noted that velocity and temperature of the fluid achieve their asymptotic profiles for Sc ≥ 10:0.

A double-blind randomised controlled trial of a natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin versus aqueous cream for managing radiation-induced skin reactions in patients with cancer

Background: Radiation-induced skin reaction (RISR) is one of the most common and distressing side effects of radiotherapy in patients with cancer. It is featured with swelling, redness, itching, pain, breaks in skin, discomfort, and a burning sensation. There is a lack of convincing evidence supporting any single practice in the prevention or management of RISR. Methods/Designs: This double-blinded randomised controlled trial aims to investigate the effects of a natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin (as known as Moogoo Udder Cream®) versus aqueous cream in reducing RISR, improving pain, itching and quality of life in this patient group. One group will receive Moogoo Udder Cream®. Another group will receive aqueous cream. Outcome measures will be collected using patient self-administered questionnaire, interviewer administered questionnaire and clinician assessment at commencement of radiotherapy, weekly during radiotherapy, and four weeks after the completion of radiotherapy. Discussion: Despite advances of radiologic advances and supportive care, RISR are still not well managed. There is a lack of efficacious interventions in managing RISR. While anecdotal evidence suggests that Moogoo Udder Cream® may be effective in managing RISR, research is needed to substantiate this claim. This paper presents the design of a double blind randomised controlled trial that will evaluate the effects of Moogoo Udder Cream® versus aqueous cream for managing in RISR in patients with cancer. Trial registration: ACTRN 12612000568819

Driving selective aerobic oxidation of alkyl aromatics by sunlight on alcohol grafted metal hydroxides

It is very difficult to selectively oxidise stable compounds such as toluene and xylenes to useful chemicals with molecular oxygen (O 2) under moderate conditions. To achieve high conversion and less over-oxidised products, a new class of photocatalysts, metal hydroxide nanoparticles grafted with alcohols, is devised. They can efficiently oxidise alkyl aromatic compounds with O 2 using visible or ultraviolet light or even sunlight to generate the corresponding aldehydes, alcohols and acids at ambient temperatures and give very little over-oxidation. For example toluene can be oxidised with a 23% conversion after a 48-hour exposure to sunlight with 85% of the product being benzaldehyde, and only a trace of CO 2.The surface complexes grafted onto metal hydroxides can absorb light, generating free radicals on the surface, which then initiate aerobic oxidation of the stable alkyl aromatic molecules with high product selectivity. This mechanism is distinctly different from those of any known catalysts. The use of the new photocatalysts as a controlled means to generate surface radicals through light excitation allows us to drive the production of fine organic chemicals at ambient temperatures with sunlight. The process with the new photocatalysts is especially valuable for temperature-sensitive syntheses and a greener process than many conventional thermal reactions. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Effects of lime content and amelioration period in double lime application on the strength of lime treated expansive sub-grade soils

The addition of lime into soils has been widely used to stabilize the expansive sub-grade soils when the road pavements are constructed on them. It is common practice to apply a half of the required lime amount and allow a certain time period for lime to react with soils (Amelioration period) before applying the rest of lime and compacting the sub-grade. The optimum amelioration period is essential to minimize the construction delay and to gain the higher strength. In this study, two different expansive soils procured from two different locations in the state of Queensland in Australia were first mixed with different lime contents. A soil mixed with a particular lime content was compacted at different amelioration periods (e.g.: 0, 6, 12, 18, 24 hrs) to obtain soil samples to measure the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS). The results suggested that for a given amelioration period, UCS increased with the increase in lime content. The optimum amelioration period could be within 14~17 hours for most of the lime contents in tested soils. This could suggest that the current 24-48 hour amelioration period specified by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main roads could be reduced.

Exo1 plays a major role in DNA end resection in humans and influences double-strand break repair and damage signaling decisions

The resection of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) to generate ssDNA tails is a pivotal event in the cellular response to these breaks. In the two-step model of resection, primarily elucidated in yeast, initial resection by Mre11-CtIP is followed by extensive resection by two distinct pathways involving Exo1 or BLM/WRN-Dna2. However, resection pathways and their exact contributions in humans in vivo are not as clearly worked out as in yeast. Here, we examined the contribution of Exo1 to DNA end resection in humans in vivo in response to ionizing radiation (IR) and its relationship with other resection pathways (Mre11-CtIP or BLM/WRN). We find that Exo1 plays a predominant role in resection in human cells along with an alternate pathway dependent on WRN. While Mre11 and CtIP stimulate resection in human cells, they are not absolutely required for this process and Exo1 can function in resection even in the absence of Mre11-CtIP. Interestingly, the recruitment of Exo1 to DNA breaks appears to be inhibited by the NHEJ protein Ku80, and the higher level of resection that occurs upon siRNA-mediated depletion of Ku80 is dependent on Exo1. In addition, Exo1 may be regulated by 53BP1 and Brca1, and the restoration of resection in BRCA1-deficient cells upon depletion of 53BP1 is dependent on Exo1. Finally, we find that Exo1-mediated resection facilitates a transition from ATM- to ATR-mediated cell cycle checkpoint signaling. Our results identify Exo1 as a key mediator of DNA end resection and DSB repair and damage signaling decisions in human cells.

Double blind : women as creative practice-led researchers

While the productive relationship between praxis and feminist research has been well established, the situation is more complicated for female artist/researchers in the fraught field of creative practice-led research. Firstly, their research is being conducted in the context of ongoing debate, as Andrea Phillips has summarized, over whether practice-led research has been embraced in order to potentially produce emancipatory knowledge, or whether it is simply the rationalization and quantification of creative processes. Secondly, there is a pervasive paradox whereby, rather than feeling empowered by the process of critical and reflective self-analysis, many women are inhibited by enduring insecurities about the value of their work and/or their ownership of it. The reasons for this appear to be twofold: they are disheartened by the ongoing disproportion of successful women artists, and they are intimidated by the fundamentally masculine discourse surrounding research in the university. Many of these anxieties appear to have been exacerbated by the research quality assessment process, the Excellence in Research for Australia Initiative (ERA). This collaborative paper draws on the authors' experiences as both artist-researchers and educators to contextualize this paradox and also discuss what forms of praxis intervention may be useful in the preparation for, and supervision of, creative practice-led research by women.

The role of randomly mixed-layered chlorite/smectite in the transformation of smectite to chlorite

Vesicular and groundmass phyllosilicates in a hydrothermally altered basalt from the Point Sal ophiolite, California, have been studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Pore-filling phyllosilicates are texturally characterized as having coherent, relatively thick and defect-free crystals of chlorite (14 Å) with occasional 24-Å periodicities. Groundmass phyllosilicates are texturally characterized as 1) randomly oriented crystals up to 200 Å in width and 2) larger, more coherent crystals up to 1000 Å in width. Small crystallites contain predominantly 14-Å layers with some 24-Å units. Large crystals show randomly interlayered chlorite/smectite (C/S), with approximately 50% chlorite on average. Adjacent smectite-like layers are not uncommon in the groundmass phyllosilicates. Electron microprobe analyses show that Fe/Mg ratios of both groundmass and vesicular phyllosilicates are fairly constant. Termination of brucite-like interlayers has been identified in some of the TEM images. The transformation mechanisms represented by these layer terminations are 1) growth of a brucite-like interlayer within smectite interlayer regions and 2) the dissolution and reprecipitation of elements to form chlorite layers. Both mechanisms require an increase in volume as smectite transforms to chlorite. The data, combined with that from previously published reports, suggest that randomly interlayered C/S is a metastable phase formed in microenvironments with low water/rock ratios. Chlorite forms in microenvironments in the same sample dominated by higher water/rock ratios. The relatively constant number of Mg's in the structure (Mg#) of both structures indicates that in both microenvironments the bulk rock composition has influence over the composition of phyllosilicates.

Soil-pile interaction in deep layered marine sediment under seismic excitation

Under seismic loads neither the response of the pile nor the response of ground are independent of each other, contrary what is normally assumed. In seismic design of buildings, dynamic response of a structure is determined by assuming a fixed base on sub-grade and neglecting the physical interaction between foundation and soil profile in which it is embedded. However, the seismic response of pile foundations in vibration sensitive soil profiles is significantly affected by the behaviour of supporting soil. This research uses validated Finite Element techniques to simulate the seismic behaviour of pile foundations embedded in multilayered vibration sensitive soils.

Layered silicates in Chondritic Porous Aggregate W7029*A : a case of primary growth

An important subset of extraterrestrial particles that reach the Earth's stratosphere include the so-called Chondritic Porous Aggregates (CPA's) [1-3]. In general, CPA's have a fluffy morphology and consist of numerous (>104)subparticles that are often <100A in size [4]. Mineral species in CPA's include Mg-rich pyroxene and olivine, Fe- and (Fe,Ni)-sulphides, taenite, Fe,Ni-carbides, magnetite, Ti-metal, a Bi-phase (metal or oxide), and variable amounts of carbonaceous material [1, 5-7]. Hydrated silicates are rare in CPA's and are limited to aggregates that have not been severely altered (thermo-metamorphosed) during atmospheric entry [8]. The presence of hydrated silicates in one cosmic dust particle was established by X-ray diffraction [2] and has been inferred in others by infra-red spectroscopy [8]. If CPA's are cometary, their mineralogy and morphology suggest that at least two episodes of aggregation occurred and that variations in porosity may be related to local differences in ice-to-dust ratio [3].